A small project started by a teen turned into a full blown life mission. A cathartic creative outlet, mixed with body positive discussions, sprinkled with sass. Here is our delicious self-love cake. Want a piece?

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5/4/14

I Am My Hair: How To Love Your Hair

I just wanna be myselfAnd I want you to love me for who I amI just wanna be myselfAnd I want you to know, I am my hair
-Lady Gaga, Hair
Once upon a time, there was a girl.
And this girl was evil, especially towards her naturally frizzy hair.
She fried every breathing strand of her hair with an overheated straightening iron, laughing diabolically as her curly hair dried up like the Sahara Desert.

That girl, big shocker, was me in the 8th grade.
I was OB-SESSED with having straight hair, because my naturally curly hair just wasn't good enough.

Not only did I completely strip my hair of life, and do a terrible job straightening my hair (seriously, ask anyone, the back half of my hair was a mop of curls, good going Gabby!), but I told myself everyday, as I ran my hair through the flames of Mordor, that I wasn't good enough just the way I was.

I know I wasn't alone, and sometimes I still look at my curly lion mane and sigh, wishing for pin straight locks.
Loving your hair may seem stupid and superficial, but it's not. There are generations of young and not-so-young women who wish for the hair of the girl next door, going to extremes to achieve their idea of beauty.
There's nothing wrong with trying to feel beautiful, but somehow, someday, you'll get caught in a rain storm, and loving your hair in its natural state will be pretty handy.
Also, self-love is the shit.

So how do you fall in love with your hair all over again? Here are 3 ideas I hope you can take inspiration from:

1. Get Inspired
One of the ways I learned to manage my mop of curls was to get inspired by others with similar hair!
It's easy to get caught up in a miserable self-loathing world if you, short curly blond haired girl, idolize long straight dark-haired Pocahontas over there.
Find ways to style it (heatless, if you can), rock different ponytails and top buns, try out headbands and cute clips, and change up your hair cut or bangs; the possibilities are endless!
Keep them as your screensaver on your phone or laptop, to ensure that your brain fully absorbs the self-love juices.

There is beauty in every strand, no matter how frizzy or flat you think it is, so sit your butt down, open Google, and find beauty.

2. Get Practice
This goes out to all my heat styling girls in the world: stahp.
Seriously, you can style your hair without damaging it like evil 8th grade Gabby did, but it's still stripping your hair of natural oils that keep it healthy and shiny.

Now I know going without heat is hard, especially if you're used to it, but practice makes perfect. The more you get used to seeing your hair in its amazing God-given natural state, the more you'll see that natural hair is in fact a beautiful thing. You'll also have more time to learn how you can style it to your taste!
Start with the weekends, or once a week, without heat.
Then up your game, increasing the amounts of time in a week.
Before you know it, you'll be rocking the natural do without throwing it under in a beanie in shame. Because you're better than that.

3. Get Analytical
Oooh, big fancy word you used there. Girl's getting prepped for the SATs.
In all seriousness, I want you to find a mirror and look.
Look for 1 thing you like about your hair today.
Maybe it's the color, maybe it's your bangs, maybe it's that one random curl.
It doesn't matter how small, how insignificant, trust. This is useful.

Then do the same tomorrow. And the day after. And the day after that.
Everyday your hair does something wonderful that you take for granted, because all your eyes can see are flaws.
But your beauty goes way beyond a few out-of-place baby hairs, so don't let those pesky little frizzies make you feel like less of a beautiful human being.

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Your hair isn't just a conversation topic girls use to hate on themselves in locker rooms; it's a unique piece of your identity, that no one, NO ONE, can exactly duplicate.
That should be celebrated, not stifled by a big old iron.